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Home › Articles › Issues for Mom › Older Children and Breastfeeding

Older Children and Breastfeeding

How Breastfeeding Impacts Older Children

By Shel Franco

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Lessons for a Generation-How Breastfeeding Impacts Older Children

My 7-year-old son had a question. "Mom, what's the big deal about breasts?" he asked. "Some of my friends are always laughing about 'boobies.'"

I couldn't help but laugh, too. In his whole seven years, I had never heard him use the term "boobies," and it sounded so comical, coming from such a "mature" youngster. In response, I mentioned something about some kids feeling uncomfortable around the human body, and that it's probably because they haven't seen many breasts in their lifetime.

The entire situation had me thinking: "Has my extended breastfeeding of three children led to my son's comfort with breasts and body issues in general?" and "Are other breastfeeding mothers experiencing the same thing?"

A Life-changing Experience
Of course, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Ann Calandro thinks it's important for children to grow up seeing breastfeeding. "I think that until breastfeeding is considered a natural part of life and treated as such, then we are going to forever have children who grow up ignorant of the normal way for infants to feed," she says. "If we are embarrassed and hide, then the children will understand that breastfeeding is embarrassing and should be hidden – or maybe shouldn't be done at all."

Before you say, "She's a lactation consultant; she has to say that," you should know that Calandro's opinion comes from intimate personal experience. "When I was a small child, I went with a friend to her grandfather's farm," she says. "The farm workers breastfed when their babies were hungry without a second thought. I was fascinated – not disgusted – to see babies feeding in such a relaxed and comfortable way. No one had a negative thought, and it was a life experience that became a part of the norm for me as well."


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